Strong Love
by daisyscrapper
Summary: Jennifer finds her strength on Atlantis as well as finds love. Ronon/Keller preship.
1. Chapter 1

John Sheppard continued knocking on the door to Ronon's quarters, impatiently waiting for Ronon to stir. It was 0600, but he needed to talk to Ronon before the morning hours slipped away. It seemed they had a deadline to make.

His hands moved to use his bypass code to the room when suddenly the door opened. Ronon, his eyes half shut but still able to give a killer look at his visitor, left the door open only to turn back into his still darkened quarters.

"Sheppard," Ronon growled over his shoulder. "This better be good." He sat back on the bed and rubbed his face. "... or you're going to pay for it the next sparring match we have."

John winced, thinking of the beating that Ronon, who he knew wouldn't forget the next time they fought, would give him. He flipped on the lights, low, as to not get Ronon more cranky than he already was.

"Yeah, well, sorry," John said. "At least you didn't get a wake up call at 0500 like I did."

"What's going on? Who called you?" Ronon asked, getting up to reach for a half empty bottle of water from last night.

John sat down on a chair in the room. "Colonel Carter. In the next few missions, from what Carter told me, we'll need someone from medical to join the team temporarily. It seems that the upcoming worlds have promise of new medicines that we may overlook while we're there."

Ronon's eyes began to open more after he chugged down the remaining water. "Who?"

"Dr. Keller." John said. "Well, as soon as she's cleared for active duty."

"Cleared?" Ronon asked. "What's going on? She's been off world a few times with other teams."

"Well," Sheppard began. "It appears that the young doc is in need of basic fighting training. Especially with weapons." Sheppard got up to turn on the lights.

Ronon shook his head. "Why did Earth send her if she was unqualified to go on missions?"

Sheppard nodded. "The thing is, she's brilliant. They couldn't pass up on asking her and figured we could provide the needed training as soon as she arrived here. Problem is that after Weir's injury and the battle with the replicators, it was pushed aside."

"Which leads me to ask… why did you come here again?" Ronon asked, again.

John winced. He wasn't looking forward to Ronon's payback the next time the sparred. "I can't do it."

"Do what?" Ronon asked.

"Train her. I can't fit it in. You will," Sheppard said quickly and moved hastily to the door to leave.

Ronon jumped from the bed and grabbed Sheppard's arm. "What? This is the same Doc we're talking about that shook in her boots for hours after the last mission? You've got to be kidding." Ronon said loudly. "And how long do I have to do this?"

Dislodging his arm, which took a few seconds due to Ronon's rough grip, Sheppard prepared to make his exit. "One week."

"Impossible," Ronon huffed. "Where's the Colonel? I'd like for her to tell me how she thinks that will happen." Ronon pushed past Sheppard in the doorway.

John put his arm on Ronon. He played his hunch to get the irritated warrior to stop before going on a rampage. "Hey, if you're not up for it, Major Lorne was first to volunteer." Ronon just shot a look at Sheppard. "Let's just go get him to do it. But I'll be honest with you, Carter was against it seeing that Lorne is developing a crush on the doc. Didn't feel that Lorne would be able to stay focused."

Ronon took one step towards Sheppard. "Crush?" He said. "Translate."

John stopped the smile from forming. "Crush. As in, he has his eye on her." Sheppard pretended to search for words. "He thinks she's hot," John said quickly and shrugged, moving as if to leave to room to track down Lorne.

John almost lost composure when he looked back to see if his friend was following him. Ronon's face turned unreadable except for the narrowing of his eyes. John knew he had been right. After Teyla and Keller's adventure with the Bola Kai, John thought back and felt it was strange that Ronon, who never backed down from a fight, turned his back to let John battle the remaining savages to help Teyla get Keller to safety. It appeared his friend, although reluctantly, may have his own crush on the doc. _Interesting. _

"Wait," Ronon said. He turned his back and walked back into his room. "I'll do it." Ronon turned. "But at least set up a time schedule with her. I don't have time to track down doctors." Ronon shut the door.

John stood there for a moment and grinned. Then he laughed. It was going to be a fun filled week ahead watching the Satedan and the Doc.


	2. Chapter 2

Ronon made his way to the gym a few hours later after receiving word from Sheppard that Keller was available for a few hours after lunch. Ronon purposefully grabbed something to eat from the dining hall to bring back to his room to avoid everyone altogether.

He didn't know why Keller was on his mind since the battle with the Bola Kai. Sure, he made some glances at her when she first arrived. Everyone did. Keller was young, a little too young according to everyone, to be considered equal to the late Dr. Beckett. However, her care during Dr. Weier's accident quickly erased doubts from mostly everyone's minds. Still, she continued to get a few looks, especially from the men on Atlantis. Keller, which no one would debate, was easy on the eye.

Keller wasn't a beauty like Teyla. No. But her innocence and freshness brought about a different beauty in her. And an undeniable surge to protect her.

Ronon opened the door to find Keller already there. Keller jumped and covered her hand across her heart as the door opened.

"Sorry," Ronon muttered.

Ronon kept his eyes on her, watching as she appeared to settle herself. She appeared younger without her uniform on. Keller was wearing black sweatpants that came up to her upper calves leaving her lower legs bare, running shoes, and what looked like many different tops layered over one another. The last one had a hood attached to it.

"Listen," she began. Her hands were completely covered by the oversized sweatshirt as she fiddled with the sleeves. "I just want to thank you for offering to help me." Keller moved towards Ronon. "I'm not stupid to think you don't think this will work, especially within one week… but I've made up my mind to do this. I've put it off way too long, and I'm not going to be put into another situation again where I don't know how to defend myself or others around me." She rushed through her rehearsed speech, forgot to breathe through it, and gulped in air as she finished, satisfied she at least appeared like a competent learner.

He moved across the room to move the mats towards them. "Dr. Keller," he began, "making up your mind to do something and being able to do it are two different things."

He regretted it the instant it left his mouth. He looked back to see her hopeful face fall. Ronon quickly tried to recover. "That didn't come out right."

Keller tried to smile. "I think it did. You're being honest, which I appreciate." She reddened. "I realize that this is something I can't learn from books, like in medical school."

Ronon shook his head. "Let's start over." He walked onto the mat, motioning her to join him. Keller slowly walked over, with a little less confidence this time as she approached him.

His eyes gazed over her, making her uncomfortable. "You can't move with all that stuff on," he said. "Take off some of it."

Keller startled. "My clothes?" she asked. "It's cold in here." He simply waited for her to obey. "OK, OK," she muttered and turned. The doctor reached down and took off the hoodie from her favorite university and her long-sleeved t-shirt, leaving on a t-shirt with a tank top underneath.

Ronon's mouth twitched, which Keller caught. "What?" she asked.

He moved again towards her on the mat. "Nothing. You just dress much different than Teyla."

Moving back towards the mat, Keller looked up to say "Well, not all of us can be gorgeous goddesses. The rest of us make do with what we have."

Ronon thought differently, but didn't verbalize this thinking. "Let's start with basic self defense." He took her wrists to make her fingers into fists, turned her body so that her shoulders were not square to him, and moved her feet to align with the rest of her body.

He didn't have much experience teaching someone, other than with the military men on the base. Teyla didn't count, seeing that she could occasionally overpower him in a fight. Keller was new territory he wasn't sure how to approach. So far, she looked like a strong wind would blow her over.

She stayed frozen in the position that he put her in, not saying a word. Good, he thought. He hated chattering people. Like Rodney. No, Rodney was OK but the chattering got on his nerves.

"Now, I'm going to pretend, in slow motion, to come at you with a punch." He got into his own stance. "Block it with whatever comes to mind."

Keller nodded, and her eyes widened when he came at her a little faster than what she imagined slow motion to be. With her leading arm, she efficiently swatted away his arm and quickly turned so that her back was not to him yet still in her stance.

Ronon's eyebrows raised. "I'm impressed." He said. "I thought you would duck and scream."

Keller smirked. "You thought wrong."

They continued the training and Ronon grew even more impressed with the doctor. No, she didn't have the strength to back up her blocks or punches, but she was a natural defender. Quick. He didn't expect that.

After three hours had gone by, Keller checked her watch. "Ronon, I'm on shift again in an hour. I need to go grab a shower and dinner."

Ronon nodded. "Nice work today, doc." He said. "Same time tomorrow?"

Keller smiled, beaming at the compliment. "You bet!" Turning as she toweled off and grabbed her clothes, she glanced his way. "My first lesson without anything broken or bleeding." She smiled. "I'm sure a lot of bets will be lost between my medical team when I go back on shift."

Jennifer yawned as she returned from her shower. Her body ached with the workout she had earlier, but she felt better than she had in weeks. Exercise hadn't been a priority in the past few weeks with everything going on. Although she was paying for it now, Jennifer still felt satisfied with her first day of training.

The pair continued to train that week, sometimes twice a day. Keller was tired, but she enjoyed the friendship she was developing with Ronon. They even got their meals together a few times a day, laughing over something that happened in their training session.

Later one night, after her shift was over, she pulled on an old pair of flannel pajama pants… the ones her college roommate always made fun of… and a black tank top since she was still hot from a second shower that day. Her hair was sopping wet and flowed down her back, cooling her down. Searching the room, she found her brush after turning on her laptop to settle in with a movie. Quickly running the brush through her hair, she mentally looked through her stash of DVD's and picked _Independence Day_ because of her mixed mood…. Cheerful, excited, but ready for a laugh. Will Smith could always deliver that.

The heat quickly left her body in the chiled room. She pulled on a different oversized sweatshirt from earlier, snuggled down in bed, and pressed play just as a knocking sound came from her door. She sighed. Then she felt guilty, hoping whoever it was didn't need medical attention since she rarely had visitors come to her quarters.

Walking across the room, she opened the door surprised to find Ronon on the other side. He smiled, looked guilty at her bed while noticing the covers drawn back, and looked back at her. "Sorry, I got you out of bed. Trust me when I say this… I hate when it happens to me."

Jennifer looked back at him, scanned him for blood, and glanced back up at his face. "Well, you're not bleeding to death or unconscious, so I take it it's not a medical emergency." She smiled.

Ronon shook his head and said, "No, I just wanted to stop by and ask if we can do an earlier training tomorrow. I heard the room was needed for a bigger training later on."

She nodded. "Actually, that will work out perfect. I only have a short late shift tomorrow evening with the time I banked from when we were short staffed doctors. Colonel Carter has been insisting that I shorten a few of my mid-week shifts."

Ronon smiled. "Good. Well, I'll let you get back to sleeping. Sorry, again Doc, for barging in." He moved to walk away.

Jennifer thought for only a moment. "Ronon!" She called back and glanced back into her quarters. "Call me Jen. Please. And actually, I was about to watch a movie." She grinned. "I'm too sore and keyed up to sleep this early. I know you've only seen a few Earth movies before. Have you seen _Independence Day_ yet?"

He moved back towards her, brightening. "No, but I've seen some Sheppard's movies. I've watched everything he has during my off time."

She moved to let him into the room and frowned. "Well, I'll be honest with you. I'm not set up for visitors, but we can watch it on the bed if you don't mind." She pushed the laptop to the middle of the bed and sat on other side, waiting for him to join her.

Ronon moved into the room, shut the door, looking around for a moment. Her quarters were unlike others. Keller room looked very female, with oversized pillows and curtains hanging over the walls.

Following his glances, Jennifer spoke up. "I love color, so I brought a few things from home to brighten up the place." Ronon glanced back, suddenly aware how small the bed was compared to his big size. "Come on, let's get started so that I don't fall asleep half way through." She said, stretching out.

He slid on top of the covers next to her, propping his back against the wall. Inching a little closer to her side so that he could see the screen, he was hit by the scent of her still wet hair. She smelled like flowers he remembered from his home. He sighed, wondering how he was going to be able to pay attention to the movie now.

Jennifer, oblivious to the thoughts running in Ronon's head, settled the screen between them by propping it half on her leg and Ronon's, pulled a pillow from behind her head and sighed. As the opening scene began to roll, she looked up at him. "I'm usually nervous when I'm around men," she began, twirling a lock of her drying hair around her fingers. "But I'm not nervous around you."

Ronon looked down at her, sinking lower in the bed. "What makes me different?" He asked.

She looked back at the screen, half paying attention to what she was saying as the storyline began. "I'm usually nervous around men because I feel like I have to make sure I look a certain way for them… you know, make-up, do the hair, watch I don't say something stupid." She stopped. "There's no pressure to do that with you, I guess."

He frowned, wondering where this was going. "What do you mean, no pressure?"

Jen looked up at him from her position. "I'm obviously not your type, so there's no pressure to live up to all of that. We're just friends." Unable to resist the warmth of his body, she moved a little closer to his arm. Sighing, she looked at the screen. Then laughed. "I bet this movie will make you laugh. You definitely do not look like any of these aliens."

Ronon, only giving the movie a little attention, ran through the conversation again in his head.

She has no idea how attractive she is, he thought. And worse yet, or maybe it was good for him, she didn't notice his attraction towards her yet.

Dwelling on his thoughts, he watched the movie and made comments when she pointed out various actors, plot elements, and translated Earth jargon for him. Shortly before the movie ended, he noticed her quietness and slow breathing. Moving the laptop to the small table next to her bed, he found her sleeping snuggly against his arms. He stayed like that for at least an hour, and savored the time he had with her for the night. Sighing, just before midnight, he got up to pull the covers over her and walked back into his own room before someone saw him come out of hers.


	3. Chapter 3

When Jennifer woke up the next morning, she sat up, embarrassed to remember she must have fallen asleep on Ronon last night. She stretched, thinking it was one of her best nights sleeping on Atlantis since she arrived.

Energized, she walked to her wardrobe and searched for something to wear to her next training session this morning. A knock interrupted her search and she walked to open the door.

Teyla stood at the door, smiling. "Doctor," she said. "Good morning. I'm glad I caught you before you began your day."

Jennifer smiled. "I'm on my way to another training." She glanced down at what Teyla was holding and grinned. "You brought one!" Jennifer looked at the outfit Teyla was letting her borrow for her training.

Stepping into the room, Teyla grinned at the excitement in Dr. Keller's voice. They were quickly becoming closer friends since their experience off world. When Jennifer told her at dinner the previous night that Ronon made fun of her clothing for training, Teyla slyly came up with a plan to have someone alter one of her outfits for the doctor. Like Sheppard, she had noticed her Satedan friend grow fonder of the doctor in the last few weeks.

"Who did you get to do this so quickly?" Jennifer asked.

"One of the Athosian's still on base. She had time on her hands because she's only staying to help with the translation of a few things acquired by one of the teams off-world," Teyla responded. "Well, try it on for me!" She laughed as Keller ran behind the changing wall in the corner of her quarters.

After a minute, Jennifer came back out shyly and looked up at Teyla. "Well, it sure does leave a lot of skin uncovered." The top of the outfit was similar to an Earth sports bra, but fancier with a little shimmer to it. It came stopped at least two inches above her belly button. The bottoms, however, covered more but were sheer below mid-thigh.

Teyla laughed. "Yes, but think of how often Ronon snagged you by your shirt yesterday after you almost deflected his attack. Today, that won't be a problem. This is the reason I wear such ensembles to train."

Moving towards the door, Teyla glanced back. "Let me know how it goes today." She grinned as left the room, thinking that Ronon was in for a challenge today.

Meanwhile, Jennifer quickly moved around the room to grab her water bottle only to be interrupted again by a knocking. She opened to the door.

Ronon stood by the door, leaning on the frame, with his own bottle dangling from his hand. His smile vanished when he looked at what she was wearing. His mouth dropped open as he scanned her visible mid-drift, her shoulders, and the flowing material of the bottom. Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, he used all of his strength to look back at her eyes.

"What did Teyla do to you since I left last night?" He asked, recognizing the clothing instantly.

She smiled shyly. "Well, you didn't seem like you approved of my previous choice in training clothing, so Teyla offered to borrow me these." She twirled. "Do you like it?"

Ronon groaned, knowing she didn't know what she was doing to him. "They're clothes." He tried his best to shrug her off. "Are you ready?"

Jennifer sniffed, passing his reaction off as a typical man who didn't care about fashion. She moved to leave but he was still blocking her way.

Ronon quickly thought, trying to find a way to get her covered without others, particularly other men, seeing her on their way to the training room. "It's cold in the corridors this morning. Take a sweatshirt until we get there."

She huffed. "It's a minute walk. I'll be fine!"

Ronon pushed past her and grabbed a sweatshirt he saw on the bed. "Trust me. You're always cold. And where are the other clothes you usually wear on top?" He took it upon himself to put the shirt over her head and helped her get her arms through. "Now let's go. We're behind already."

Jennifer stalked behind him, pushing the hair out of her face, trying to keep up. "Yes, sir, Mr. Crankypants." On the way, she quickly tied up her hair into a messy pony tail.

They arrived quickly, thanks to Ronon's hurry to get there without being seen, and Jennifer peeled off her sweatshirt before meeting him on the mat.

Ronon stepped on to the mat, inwardly cursing the fact that he had planned to go over grappling on the ground today. Many times he's seen great fighters lose their advantage as soon as the fight is taken on to the ground- it was something she needed to learn. Especially being a woman.

But it wouldn't be easy staying focused with her dressed like that.

She noticed he seemed hesitant to begin today and wondered what was going on in his head. "Are you feeling OK?" She asked.

His eyes met her. "Wonderful." He replied with his teeth closed. "I feel wonderful." He tried to push aside his thoughts.

Moving closer to her, he began explaining ways to avoid moving a fight to the ground. He showed her techniques and stances that could possibly make her stance week, thereby moving her to the ground with her opponent. Or worse, leaving her helpless while an opponent got off a shot.

"Now," he began. "There are a couple things you can do if you are in this situation." He paused. "Lie down on your back with your legs straight out in front of you."

Jennifer paused. For some reason, she was had been very comfortable with him up until this point. Laying down in front of him was different. She slowly followed his directions and looked up at him uncertainly. Ronon, from a kneeling position, got on top of her and sat on her just above her knees so that she was pinned from the lower half down. "Now," he said. "Tell me what your options are. Your hands and arms are still free to do damage."

Jennifer tried to keep her breathing even and thought quickly. "You're too low for me to do anything major, unless I reach up and hit your stomach or your… ummm…" She blushed. "Your groin area."

Ronon laughed, relaxing a little. "Good. You at least realize that if you're down like this, you'll need your opponent closer to you to take an advantage." He scooted up a little. "Grab my wrist and pull me towards you as hard as you can."

She quickly did and was surprised that he was put off balance by the move and landed directly on top of her with both hands on either side of her head. Jennifer inhaled quickly, overcome by emotion of being this class to him. _What am I thinking? _she thought. _I can't allow myself to think this way… he's a friend. Only a friend. _Her heart traitorously leaped out of her chest. Ronon smelled like a mixture of soap from Earth as well as leather from his shirt.

He watched her squirm for a moment and smiled inwardly as he noticed that she was finally affected as he was.

"Now," he said. "Let me show you what damage you can do from this position." He ran through possibilities, half of them Jennifer instantly forgot. She continued to struggle with her focus. They tried a few of them until she got most of them down.

Giving her a break, he flipped her over so that she was now in the same position where he was before, but on top of him. He instantly regretted his move as her hair flew out of the band and framed her face. She looked beautiful, and he had to get his mind back on track. Eager to get space between them for his own sanity, he placed his hands on her bare mid-drift and lifted her into a kneeling position over him.

He drew a breath. "Now, tell me what you can do from here," he asked.

Because he kept his hands lightly on the outside of her thighs, she couldn't think immediately. _Come on, Jen. Get a grip. Think._ Looking away and yanking her hair back into a ponytail, she took a deep breath. "I think my only advantage at this point is putting as much weight down on your throat. Maybe with my knee?" She suggested.

He nodded. "Perfect. There are a few other things that we'll try." For the next few minutes, he went over a few other moves and sensed her focus and confidence returning. Thinking quickly, he suddenly grabbed and twisted her back under him to demonstrate how easy it would still be for an enemy of overpower her.

Jennifer let out a whoosh of air. "Where did that come from?" She looked at him, dazed.

He grinned. "Can't let you get too confident."

She slyly grabbed his arm, pulling him off balance and tried her best to show off some of her moves. Ronon, catching on quickly, defended himself much to her disappointment. "Nice try, doc." He said. Pinning her arms over her head, he decided now was a better time than any. "But now that I have you down here, let me ask you a question."

Still struggling, she stopped to look up at him. "What?"

He was inches from her face and starred into her eyes. "Tell me what you meant last night."

Embarrassed, she rolled her eyes. "When?" He kept looking at her like she should know. "What? Was a talking in my sleep? What did I say?"

"Oh no, you were awake for this." He said. "What did you mean that you're not my type?"

She scrunched her face in confusion. "Type. Oh!" She relaxed. He just didn't understand Earth jargon again. "You know, the type of woman you usually fall for would be someone with the looks and personality like Teyla."

He narrowed his eyes and inched closer to her. "Really? And you just assumed this?" His voice got dangerously low. He let go over her hands and placed his weight on his elbows on either side of her head.

Not for the first time today, she sensed he was flirting with her. _What? _She thought._ There is no way! _But as his mouth got closer to hers, there was no mistake in his intention. Mesmerized, she automatically reached up to pull his head down to meet his lips. When he was a fraction away, they both jumped as they heard the door sliding open.

Jen tried to get up, but Ronon wasn't budging. He glared up at the visitor while holding her down, taking notice it was Sheppard, and glared at him.

"What?" He demanded from his position on the floor.

John took in the scene and looked up, surprised. "Ah… sorry, guys." He fumbled. Turning to leave, he called out to Ronon. "Just wanted to remind you the new recruits of Lorne are coming in shortly. Lorne wanted you to stay to demonstrate at the beginning with him, Ronon." He quickly made his exit, grinning on the way out.

Ronon, cursing Sheppard, Lorne, and pretty much everyone on Atlantis, got up and lifted Jen to her feet. "That's not over." He warned her. "Not over by a long shot."

Jennifer, stunned at the events that just happened, nodded stupidly and picked up her stuff to exit before the men arrived.

Lorne, arriving early, came through the door. His eyes widened at the site of Dr. Keller and he stopped dead in his tracks. "Doc?" he asked. "Wow, you look great." Not taking his eyes off of her, he didn't notice Ronon's menacing glare shooting at him.

Sheppard, arriving back this time with several bottles of water, took in the scene. Quickly, Jennifer said her good-byes, avoiding Ronon's eyes, and ran out the door. Lorne, eyes still glued to her, grinned at Sheppard while watching her retreating form.

Sheppard, acutely aware of Ronon's reaction to Lorne, felt the tension that Lorne obviously didn't. "Son, wipe the drool off your face and let's get to work."

"Sorry, sir," Lorne said sheepishly. "Can't help it." He finally looked at Ronon. "Hey, Ronon. You've been with Doc Keller for a few days of training. Do you know if she would mind if I asked her out?"

Ronon's eyes narrowed and he began moving towards Lorne with the thought of strangling him clearly on his mind. Sheppard, sensing this, moved between them. "Lorne, if you value your life, let's just move on to setting up before the men arrive."

Confused, but still floating over seeing Jen, shrugged and began setting up more mats. As the men trickled in, Sheppard approached Ronon.

"So," he started. "How's the training coming along?" Sheppard couldn't resist trying to prod information out of him.

Ronon turned and glared. "It went well today except for the interruption. You're lucky I didn't kill you, by the way."

Sheppard smiled. "Nah, you wouldn't have done that… but then again I'm sure some bodily harm would have happened might I have been closer to your… umm… practice session." He moved to a safe distance. "If you could call it that. But seriously, how is she doing? Her first mission since the training is coming up."

"She actually is doing well." Ronon said. "Jen's quick on her feet. Learns fast. If she can play up her strengths, her weaknesses will continue to improve."

Sheppard cocked his head. "So it's _Jen_ now and not Dr. Keller, huh?"

Ronon glared and turned to begin his demonstration part of Lorne's lesson. He looked at the man, still fuming over his comments about asking Jennifer on a date.

"Are you ready to begin?" asked Lorne, oblivious to Ronon's mood. For those who didn't know Ronon well enough, he mostly always had the same expression on his face. Only Sheppard could see Ronon's boiling anger.

"More than ready." Ronon answered.

They moved onto the mats, took their stances, and began. Both tried attacking at the same time. Ronon, trying to play with Lorne and build his confidence, let him get a few minor hits in. He felt a sting when Lorne landed a hit near his eye and felt the wetness of blood. And that's when he really began. Instantly, he went into attack mode. Within ten seconds, he grabbed Lorne, knocked both legs out from under him, and threw him hard onto the mat.

Lorne, with the wind knocked out of him, merely stared at Ronon in confusion. Ronon's anger began to disappear now that he let out some steam.

"Sorry. I know I was rough. And I probably embarrassed you in front of the new recruits," he muttered under his breath so only Lorne could hear. He grabbed Lorne by the shirt and bent low, with his back to the recruits and Sheppard.

"Now, listen carefully," he paused. "Stay away from Keller," he moved closer so that he was inches away from Lorne's face. "I don't want you looking at her. I don't want you hanging around the infirmary unless you're bleeding to death. And I don't want you thinking about her."

Ronon paused, ready to say it aloud. "She's taken." He let Lorne go, offered his hand to assist him with getting up. Lorne, still in shock, was slow to take it. Once on his feet, his eyes didn't leave Ronon's and he nodded in understanding.

Ronon saluted the recruits, muttered something unintelligible to Sheppard, and went off on his own visit to the infirmary to get the blood now dripping from his eyebrow stitched up.

Jennifer made her way back to her quarters in a daze. She half-heartedly waved at a few people who greeted her on the way but in her mind she was in a different world. _What just happened? Or, what just ALMOST happened?_ Her heart was racing as she closed the door to her room and hurried to take a shower before jumping into her uniform for her shift.

Drying her hair, she quickly checked her appearance in the mirror. Her hair looked OK, but styling it on Atlantis was much more timely and difficult than plugging a curling iron or curlers in on Earth. Instead, she quickly applied a little makeup, careful not to go overboard because she rarely went past the natural look, and ran out the door.

She stopped. _What am I doing? This entire time on Atlantis I haven't once worn makeup. What was the point?_ Well, it appeared like she had one now.

Walking quickly to the infirmary, she mentally pushed thoughts of Ronon out of her mind and tried to get into the mindset of her job. As she walked in, she noticed it was fairly busy for this time of afternoon. Cursing herself for not making time to grab food for lunch, she jumped in and began assisting and aiding other doctors.

Not before long, Rodney flew in and insisted on immediate treatment of an unknown looking rash on his stomach. She groaned, knowing fully she was the only doctor not currently with a patient, and examined him while listening to his other listings of ailments.

"Furthermore, doctor, I need you also to check…" he began just as she interrupted his sentence.

"Enough, Rodney. You're fine," she exclaimed. "Here, take this cream and apply it twice a day until it's gone. More than likely the laundry people switched the detergent and you are experiencing a slight skin irritation."

After the last words were out of her mouth, they both heard her stomach rumbling loudly. Although Rodney was put off by her pushing aside his complaints, he snickered at her embarrassment.

"Yes. Well, I think I just heard an earthquake on the mainland." He began. "No, wait. Was that just your stomach?"

Despite her intentions to stay annoyed at him, she laughed and relaxed. "I forgot to grab lunch. Dinner. Whatever it's called at 3 p.m.

Rodney smirked as he jumped off the examining table, happy he got in at least one jab for her minimizing his rash. Turning, he thanked her and walked out.

Not paying attention, he ran into a bleeding Ronon in front of the cafeteria.

"Ronon," Rodney stopped and stared. "You're bleeding."

Ronon glanced up and glared. "I know."

"Oh, OK. Well, if you're on your way to the infirmary, take Dr. Keller something to eat. Unless you want to listen to her barren stomach growl at you the entire time."

Rodney made his way back to his work area as Ronon thought, switched his direction, and stopped in the cafeteria to grab a meal for Jennifer while getting asked twice more if he knew he was bleeding.

Jennifer sat down for the first time since she came on shift to look over paperwork that came across her desk for acquisition of more medicine supplies. She glanced up just in time to see Ronon, who she had just spent better part of an hour trying to forget, appear with dried blood caked on his face. She instantly jumped up and ran over to him.

"What happened to your face?" She asked loudly. "When did this happen?" She grabbed the items from his hand, not noticing what it was, and put it on the empty gurney next to them. She pushed him onto the other gurney and shoved him on his back.

"Food... for you." Ronon said. "Lorne just got a punch in after you left during training."

She examined the wound, determining that it would need at least a few stitches. She sighed.

"Seriously, how many stitches am I going to put in you while I'm here? This is probably the third time I've done it, not to count how many others have probably sewn you up." Jennifer said as she worked to close the wound.

Ronon just laid there, with a half smile on his face. "Probably not as much anymore," gauging her mood, he went on. "Most of it was just an excuse come here to see you."

Jennifer, shocked, dropped the needle and swatted his arm. "What? What do you mean? You purposely have been getting hurt just to talk to me?" She slammed down her gloves. "Have you ever heard of asking a woman out on a date?"

"No, actually. This way was easier." He quickly stood up and trapped her between him and the empty gurney. "So, will you go somewhere with me tomorrow after we train?"

With her back to the gurney, she stumbled back only to have him steady her. "Uh, well. How about dinner and a movie? Well, Atlantis style. We can't exactly make reservations for a four star restaurant and hit the theater here."

Confused, he just looked down at her. "I won't pretend like I understood a word you said. But how about we have dinner and then watch one of Sheppard's movies this time?"

Keller swallowed. "Sounds good."

Ronon looked like he wanted to do, or say, something more, but he shifted his gaze onto the gurney. "Here," he grabbed the sandwich and bottle he snagged from the cafeteria. "Eat."

She looked surprised that he would know she skipped lunch. "Rodney told me," he explained.


	4. Chapter 4

Shortly before midnight, Jennifer was sleepy soundly after a long shift when Col. Carter's voice came through her radio next to her bed.

"Dr. Keller," Carter continued saying again. "Report for active duty immediately to my office."

She grabbed the radio, mumbled incoherently to answer back, and stumbled off her bed to put on a clean uniform. Beginning to worry about what was going on, she walked quickly to meet with the colonel.

Carter was sitting on her desk with her head in her hands. "Colonel?" Jennifer asked, quickly approaching her to check for injuries. "What's going on?"

"Doctor," Carter breathed. "I know you may not be ready for this, but an off-world team needs emergency medical help right now." She began pacing. "They are under heavy fire from an unknown enemy. We didn't worry when they failed to report back at their assigned time tonight. They were only in peaceful trade negotiations. It turns out they have been held as hostages this entire time."

She continued to pace. "Major Kelly is dead. According to the marine that escaped to dial Atlantis for help, three more are severely injured. They escaped, but are being hunted in the forest." Carter looked directly into Jennifer's eyes. "Can you handle accompanying Sheppard's team to both treat and see that the men get back safely?"

Jennifer nodded immediately, mentally beginning to pack a bag of essentials. "Have someone pack my gear and I'll go grab the medical supplies I need. How many minutes do I have?

Carter nodded, glad the doctor wasn't panicking. "Ten minutes. Sheppard's team is ready to leave immediately."

Quickly hustling to the infirmary, she grabbed a military issue duffel bag along the way. Shouting orders to her team, she quickly got the necessary emergency gear into the bag and made her way back to the gate.

Sheppard and Ronon were already there, waiting impatiently, while Rodney was adjusting an Atlantian device to track the missing men. Sheppard, as Jennifer walked in, quickly turned to nod at Col. Carter to dial the world. They boarded the jumper and waited for the gate to activate.

Ronon approached Jennifer before the gate activated. "Remember, your priority is to see to the men. We're here to take care of protecting you and getting the men out."

Jennifer nodded, feeling nervous for the first time. Climbing into the jumper, they quickly flew through the gate.

Setting down the jumper close to the gate, the exited. The planet they gated to would have normally appeared peaceful, if not for the distant sounds of gunfire. Sheppard immediately barked into his radio trying to get an update from the men. Unsuccessful, he looked to Rodney to point them to the direction.

"OK," Rodney said. "I'm getting readings of life forms in two different directions."

Sheppard looked at Ronon. "We'll split up. Ronon and Rodney, doc and me. Keep in radio contact at all times."

Ronon, not wanting to leave Jennifer, gave Sheppard a long look before departing with Rodney. His silent message must have gotten through to Sheppard he lightly patted Ronon on his way past him to assure he would protect Jennifer.

Sheppard and Jennifer made their way into the west side of the forest. Within an hour, he heard a voice from one of the marines detailing their location. Both hastened after hearing the man's voice in pain through the radio until they found him hidden in a tight grouping of bushes.

Major Jennings was laying there when they arrived, clearly in pain and struggling to remain conscious. Jennifer quickly assessed his injuries and began treating him with the supplies she brought. Turning around, she glanced at Sheppard. "I can't move him until I finish treating him. He's lost too much blood and is in shock. Go on and find the rest."

Reluctantly, Sheppard agreed but still was not confident in leaving the doctor alone. "Doc, keep your gun out and listen for anyone approaching. Keep your radio on too."

She absently nodded, and quickly worked to stabilize Jennings. She was forced to get liquids into his body and hooked an IV up to a nearby low branch, improvising. Tearing off his shirt, she found the source of the blood flow and worked to stop it before he bled to death. _What kind of weapon makes such a wound? _She asked. It looked similar to knife wound but the tears in the skin normally wouldn't appear so jagged. Jennings, who had passed out minutes after their arrival, couldn't give her details so she worked quickly. His pulse was too weak. She was going to lose him if she couldn't get him back to Atlantis.

It seemed like minutes, but a glance at her watch showed three hours had passed by. Quietly moving to the radio, she attempted to contact Sheppard without success. Suddenly, she heard him nearby shouting at men to get to their location. Two men stumbled into the shelter. Jennifer dragged them both fully into the shelter and next to Jennings. Both looked as bad, if not worse, than Jennings. She quickly treated them as best she could, forcing one of them to stay conscious to help her.

"Doc, Sheppard's under heavy fire. He needs help. Patch me so that I can go help him." He said.

Jennifer looked at him and shook her head. "All three of you can't be moved." She grabbed his weapon. "How far away is he?"

The marine pointed, and immediately passed out before he could refrain her from going.

Intent on finding Sheppard, she pushed aside her anxiety and carefully walked to the location Sheppard was last seen. Sure enough, she came upon him but couldn't see any sign of the enemy. From the bodies strewn around him, she could tell he just had finished a long battle against tough odds. Without warning, she saw a man sneaking up behind Sheppard with a long knife. Just as the man was about to slice through Sheppard's neck, Jennifer raised her gun and fired.

Sheppard, stunned at the sound, turned around with his gun raised. In shock, Jennifer lowered her weapon, pushing past the fact she had just been forced to take someone's life. It didn't surprise her that her shot hit the man exactly to his heart. Her father had taught her well back in high school and college with their hand gun he had owned.

Just as she was about to approach him, a force from behind pulled her back and lifted a long, jagged knife to her throat.

Sheppard, still with his gun raised, stared grimly at the man holding Jennifer hostage. "Look, buddy. You're going to want to drop that knife and let her go."

The man, who smelled like he hadn't showered in months, pulled her closer. "If you want her to live, put down your weapon and surrender." He jerked the knife closer to her neck and grazed her neck with the sharp knife.

Jennifer felt herself close to fainting, but she knew she had to help Sheppard get her out of this mess. Suddenly, feeling stupid, she remembered she was still holding her gun. Although the man had her neck pulled back to expose the blood dripping from her neck to Sheppard, she was able to clearly look down to aim a close-range shot to the man's foot. Looking once at Sheppard to try to relay what she was about to do, she saw a glimmer of understanding in his eyes. To distract the man, Sheppard pretended to lower his weapon to the ground just as Jennifer got off her shot.

The man instantly released her and she dove for cover as Sheppard fired shots, killing the man.

He ran over to Jennifer, who was laying face up on the ground. "Nice thinking, doc." Then his face turned angry. "Now tell me why you are out here and not with the men." Sheppard got out his bandana to wipe her neck, checking how deep the cut was. It was bad, but nothing life-threatening for now.

Her teeth chattered from the shock. "Two of the men may not make it unless we get back immediately. The one marine that just came back from here told me you were in trouble." She grimaced and he helped her up. Sheppard took a bandana out of his jacket pocket and tied it snuggly against her wound on her neck to stem the flow of blood.

He looked closely at her. "Are you going to be OK?"

Jennifer looked around at the scene surrounding her. Bodies, one of whom she had killed, littered the immediate are. It was safe to say she was nearly killed by one of them, who luckily didn't nick her jugular. She was mentally and physically exhausted.

Pulling strength she didn't realize she had, she looked away and nodded. They quickly made their way, quietly, through the forest back to the shelter. On the way, Ronon finally made contact with Sheppard and said they had joined up with the injured men and had two more of their own. The best news either Sheppard or Jennifer heard all day was that one of the injured marines with the gene capable of flying the jumper would be picking them up at the shelter along with Ronon and Rodney.

When they arrived back at the shelter, Rodney and Ronon were already loading up the injured. Jennifer packed up the remaining medical supplies while Sheppard took over the marine who had flown the jumper. Once they were all in, Jennifer immediately went to each injured man and continued to treat them as they flew back towards the gate. Sheppard landed the jumper to have Rodney dial home.

While she was treating the men, Ronon was carefully watching her face. _Something happened_. He could tell by the way her face was tightly set while treating the men. Sheppard also kept glancing back at the doctor with a worried expression on his face. Neither of them had said what happened to them in the past few hours, but Ronon was sure that Jennifer had to deal with more than just a few injured men.

Because he was ready, and because of his hunch, when Jennifer fully stood up and held her head while swaying, he quickly jumped up and caught her as she began to slide to the floor. Sheppard, who was still waiting for Rodney, made his way back to them. Ronon set her carefully down on the floor with her upper body supported by his own. Sheppard, knowing the source of the problem, looked quickly at Ronon and shook his head.

"She was taken by one of the men for a few minutes by knifepoint," he said as he untied his bandana from her neck. Jennifer, who never fully passed out, pushed away Sheppards hands and struggled to get up to make her way back to the injured men. "Doc, we may still need you before we get back and you're no use passed out. Give us a minute to take care of you."

With no other choice, she nodded and layed back, supported in Ronon's arms.

Ronon was filled with rage when he took the long, thin slice of matted blood on the side of her neck. Sheppard wiped the wound clean with the supplies Jennifer had layed out while Ronon pushed her hair from the wound.

Rodney, who had reboarded the jumper, quickly inhaled his breath. "What happened?"

Sheppard handed him the supplies. "Finish cleaning and bandaging her. I need to get us back."

Rodney and Ronon worked together to finish the cleaning. Meanwhile, one of the marines slid over and slipped Jennifer a hard piece of candy.

The marine looked at them. "Doc always makes me carry these because of my blood sugar problem. It should help her with the dizziness."

A few moments later, they arrived back to Atlantis. Opening the doors to the jumper, several gate crew members helped the injured onto gurneys and transported them to the infirmary. Ronon lifted Jennifer to her feet but then changed his mind when she sank against him. Lifting her into his arms, passing a wide-eyed Colonel Carter, he walked past the others and quickly followed the injured to the infirmary.

Jennifer awoke in the infirmary hours later. One of her nurses was walking around her bed, checking the monitors. Confused, Jennifer lifted her hand slowly to her neck.

"Dr. Keller," the nurse said. "Glad you're awake. It's good to see you back in one piece." The nurse smiled at her when Jennifer looked confused. "The way that beast of a man came barreling in here, we thought you were minutes from death."

_Ronon_, Jennifer thought. She looked around to see if he was near her with the other injured. "We had him escorted out finally after we treated a couple minor scratches. Major Sheppard had to come drag him to eat dinner."

She was in a daze but reality began to set in. "How are the men who came back with me?"

The nurse glanced up. "Alive, thanks to you. Two needed surgery to stop internal bleeding. The others will be fine after a few days rest."

Pulling together her thoughts, she slowly sat up and swung her legs off the gurney. Looking down, she saw a mixture of her blood and others staining the front of her uniform. Her hair in one area stuck to the mass near her neck.

"You need to stay for at least a few more hours," the nurse cautioned.

Jennifer shook her head. "I have to get the blood off me." Pushing the nurse gently aside, unhooking the IV herself, she made her way, bare-footed, back to her quarters. By some miracle, she only passed a few people on her way back. Most of them got the message that she didn't want to talk.

Instead of showering immediately, as she planned, the minute her door closed Jennifer sank slowly to the ground with her arms wrapped around her. Shaking, her mind replayed the events that happened earlier that day. _She had killed a man._ Remembering the way the man had dropped to the Earth, spilling blood out of the wound that came from her hand, she began to sob.

Meanwhile, Sheppard convinced Ronon to leave Jennifer's side to meet with Col. Carter in the mess hall while they debriefed her on the mission. It was informal, but no one was in the mood to make it formal.

For the first time, both Ronon and Carter heard what happened to Sheppard and Jennifer. Ronon watched Sheppard retell the story expressionless, but then revealed his emotions when he stood up to abruptly throw out his trash. Carter and Sheppard watched him make his way out of the mess hall.

Turning to Carter, Sheppard took a long gulp of his coffee. Feeling more alive after a shower and change of clothes, he stretched his legs out. "She had guts. I didn't know if she could handle everything, but she not only saved those men's lives but she saved mine as well. Not to mention her quick thinking to get the man from slicing her head off."

"Well, John," she began. "I'll be the first to say how happy she got through this. But the thing is, she's not through it yet." Carter lowered her voice. "Do you remember how you felt the first time you took someone's life in battle? Because I do. Speaking from a woman's perspective, it took a long time for me to come to grips over it."

He nodded. "Should I go see if she's up to a chat?"

Carter shook her head. "I plan on seeing to it myself. The infirmary just told me she checked herself out about an hour and a half ago."

"Ronon may beat you do it." Sheppard glanced up, unsure how to approach this. "It appears that we may have a budding romance."

Carter smiled. "It wouldn't be the first time, nor the last." She looked away, wistfully.

When Ronon quietly knocked on her door, he heard the sound of one of those Earth hair dryers buzzing in her room. Waiting for a few minutes, he gave up and went back to his quarters.

Sitting on her bed, Jennifer turned off the hair dryer. She just spent the better part of an hour, after her crying jag, scrubbing blood off her body and hair in the shower. She washed both her hair and her body several times before she began to feel clean again. Taking the wet towel wrapped around her body off, she pulled on a pair of cut-off sweat pants, a tank top, and a t-shirt. Inhaling the clean scent, she moved to redo her now wet dressing over her cut. Her eyes, as she glanced in the mirror, were red-rimmed from crying so much. Her cut, thankfully, did look a little better than she imagined it. Glad that there was no need for stitches, she covered it with a smaller bandage. Because the massive amount of scrubbing made her skin dry, she applied lotion everywhere before sinking under her covers.

A knock sounded at her door. Ignoring it, she pulled the covers over her head and waited for the person to leave. Minutes dragged on to an hour. Her mind wouldn't stop thinking.

Jumping out of bed, she suddenly felt trapped in her room. She slipped into her flip flops and opened her door. It was shortly after 11 p.m. and mostly everyone, except for the men doing rounds of Atlantis, was in their personal quarters. Jennifer found herself making her way to the one person she wanted to see right now.

By the time she made it to his room, she was shivering from the coldness in the hallway. That, and a mixture of nerves, made her shake so uncontrollably that she skipped a courtesy knock and used her medical bypass code to open the door herself.

Finding him in bed, propped up with a dim light on sharpening his knives, she suddenly became embarrassed that she barged in on him. "I'm sorry," she began, still shaking. "I just couldn't sleep and wondered if I could stay for a little while."

He made his way over to hear and wrapped his arms around her. She shook more now that she felt the warmth of his body. Taking an extra blanket from a nearby closet, he wrapped it around her body and carried her onto his bed.

"Are you feeling OK?" He asked as he sank down on the bed and held her in his arms. "Why did you leave the infirmary already?"

She buried her head in his shoulder. "The blood." Her eyes filled up again. "So much blood…"

He listened to her weeping and gradually she began to pour out her heart. "I killed him, Ronon." She sobbed. "But I know that he would have killed us."

Ronon pulled her head so that she was staring in his eyes. And at that moment, looking directly into her soul, he felt himself fall in love with her. This woman, who cried over killing an enemy, was at the same time the same strong woman who saved several lives today, including his friend John's.

"It never is easy," he began. "To take someone's life. But you need to know that he made a choice to kill, and if you had not come by, John wouldn't be here still."

"I know that," she said. "But it doesn't make it easier."

As her tears began to subside, she pulled her arms around him. Ronon drew up the covers to the bed around them and they held each other without saying a word. Ronon tucked her head under his and kissed the top of her hair. She smelled so sweet. Knowing she was still awake, he rubbed her back to try and relax her.

"Ronon?" she asked.

"Yeah?" Ronon answered, still overwhelmed by his realization that he had just fallen in love for the second time in his life. The first time, it had been a young, sweet love. This time, it felt different.

"Thanks for listening." Jennifer drew her head up, found his lips and kissed him slowly, and smiled for the first time that day. Snuggling deeper, she drifted off into sleep in the comfort of his arms.

Ronon sighed, wrapped his arms tighter around her, and slept soundly knowing that she was more at peace with what happened today.


	5. Chapter 5

Ronon awoke the next morning to find himself tangled in Jennifer's legs. Groaning at the kink in his neck, he tried to look down to see if she was still sleeping. Confirming that she was, he quietly untangled himself and got up to look at the time. It was 9 a.m.

Making his way to grab a shower, he grabbed his radio and contacted Sheppard.

"Ronon," Sheppard said, still sleepy. "What's up?"

"I'll meet you in your room in a minute." Ronon said.

There was a pause. "Ronon out." Ronon set down the radio, turned it off, and tucked the blankets back over her shoulders.

Sheppard had the door open when Ronon arrived. Despite the door opened, Sheppard must have fallen back onto his bed face down after he had gotten up.

"Sheppard, wake up." Ronon said.

"What?" Sheppard said.

"We need to talk," Ronon said. "I need you to contact Col. Carter to get Jen cleared of duty for at least today."

"It's been done already," Sheppard mumbled. "Now go."

Ronon shifted, trying to find a way to bring up another subject. "Can I use a shower over here?" He shifted the clothes that he brought in his hands.

"What's matter with the one in your room?" Sheppard slurred, obviously almost back to sleep.

Ronon sighed, knowing he had to say it. "I left Jen in my room and don't want to wake her. She needs more sleep."

Sheppard shot his head up, clearly awake, and turned to face Ronon. "Did you say what I think you just said?"

Sinking down on Sheppard's bed, Ronon growled. "It's not like that," he said. "She just came to my room last night to talk and fell asleep."

Sheppard smiled. "Oh," he said. "OK. How's she doing?"

Ronon got up and stood over the bed. "Better. I think she feels better now that it's over and she's sorted out some things in her head."

"Why are you here if she's in your room still?" John asked.

"I wanted to check in with you, clear her schedule, and take her somewhere today," Ronon said, clearly uncomfortable. "So what do women like to do on Earth if they are with a man?"

Laughing, Sheppard got up and grabbed a bottle of water from his stash, tossing one to Ronon. "You're asking me advice on where to take the doc on a date?" Looking at Ronon, who was awaiting an answer impatiently, he thought. "OK. On Earth, this would be easy. Atlantis is another challenge."

Sheppard chugged down the water and thought. "OK, I got it. Get the cooks to pack you a picnic lunch for you both. I'll take care of the rest," Sheppard moved to grab clothes from his bag. "Tell doc to wear something for the beach."

"The beach?" Ronon asked.

Sheppard nodded. "Go shower and take care of that. Meet me in the jumper bay in two hours."

A half hour later, Ronon was showered, holding a basket, and feeling foolish. Standing outside his door, he opened it.

Jennifer, waking up, smiled when she saw him. "I'm sorry. I keep falling asleep on you." She noticed him carrying something. "What's that?"

Ronon sank down on the bed. "Sheppard called it a picnic. The cooks called it a basket. So I'm not sure."

Laughing, Jennifer gingerly got to her feet. Her hands instinctively went to her bandage, which had pulled off slightly during the night.

He set down the basket and brushed her hair off her shoulder. "Let's see how it's doing." Ronon moved close to her and pulled the bandage off. "Not bad. Do you want it to dry out during the day?"

Nodding, she self-consciously glanced in his mirror. "Maybe I can find something to wear that covers it during my shift."

"You're off today," he said. "Sheppard's orders."

Surprised, she glanced back. "But I'm fine. And I haven't been on shift in two days."

Agitated at her stubbornness, he pulled her off the bed. "No arguing. My orders. You have about an hour until we need to meet Sheppard in the jumper bay."

Confused, she began to slip into her shoes that lay next to his bed. "Another mission?"

Ronon grinned. "Nope," he said. "We're taking the day off. Oh, and Sheppard said to dress for the beach."

Still surprised, Jennifer said a quick good-bye and went to get ready and shower in her quarters.

Meanwhile, Sheppard recruited Teyla into his plans. Teyla packed a small bag for the trip and included a bottle of non-alcoholic champagne, chocolate pieces that she knew Jennifer loved, and a large blanket for them at the beach.

As Sheppard watched her back, she explained. "Dr. Keller does not drink alcoholic beverages. She brought back a few bottles of this on her last trip for the both of us. And my cravings for chocolate prompted her to give me a large quantity of this Earth chocolate, which is also her favorite."

Glad that he had help, Sheppard grabbed the bag after thanking Teyla and made his way to the jumper. A confused looking Dr. Keller looked at him while Ronon took the bag from him.

"Major Sheppard," she said. "Thank you for the time off today."

He glanced at her, grinning. "Yeah, just consider it a payback for saving my life yesterday. Possibly twice."

Jennifer blushed. "Well, where are we going, guys?"

Sheppard shook his head. "I'm just your driver, doc. Just consider yourself like Julia Roberts in _Pretty Woman_ when she flies off with Gere on the plane. Without the opera and hooker part, of course."

"Hey, no talking so that the Satedan can't understand," Ronon grumbled, opening the doors to the jumper.

Jennifer shook her head, laughing at Ronon.

Luckily, she had brought a pair of kaiki capri's and a summer blouse back on her last trip from Earth. She had also indulged this morning and fixed her hair and make-up more than normal. Glancing down at her toenails, it made her happy that she also brushed on a quick coat of red polish before slipping into sandals. Not lost on Ronon, he kept shifting his glances towards her.

Sheppard flew the couple to the mainland, circling for a pretty spot on the beach he had found during his last voyage there. Satisfied he had found it, he landed the jumper.

"OK, kids, I'll pick you up in about four hours," grinning at Ronon, he patted his shoulder and took off back in the jumper.

Now alone, both of them looked at each other. Dropping the basket and bag that Teyla had packet, he looked around the beach. "Sheppard said Teyla packet a blanket for us to sit and eat on. Are you hungry?"

She nodded, relaxing. "I'm starving."

Leaving Jennifer to spread out the blanket, Ronon began to unpack the food. The cooks, who have gotten used to Ronon's big appetite, bagged a generous portion of fried chicken and cole slaw. Portioning out the food, they eagerly began to eat.

"So," he said. "Now that it's just us, tell me the truth. How are you really feeling today?"

Jennifer shrugged and sighed. "Truthfully, a lot better. Both in mind and body. What happened yesterday will live in my mind forever, but it doesn't upset me today like it did last night."

Wiping his chin with a large cloth napkin, he pushed the food away to the edges of the blanket and pulled her hand closer to his. "I'm glad."

Jennifer stretched out on the blanket, full from the meal. Ronon spread out, putting his weight on his elbow and propped his head up with his hand. He looked down at her.

"So what prompted you to fly me away from Atlantis today?" she asked. "Still worried about me? Don't worry, I won't cry on you today."

Ronon smiled, wiping the stray strands of hair off her face. "Nope. I didn't want any interruptions today." He cupped her face in his hand and sank down to cover his lips with hers.

Jennifer felt the world tilt. She vaguely remembered kissing him before going to bed last night, but this different. Although she hadn't had much experience on Earth with men, she felt overwhelmed by her feelings for this man. Despite that they literally came from two different worlds, were complete opposites, she never felt more comfortable and drawn to another man.

The kiss went on and Jennifer wrapped her arms around his neck to draw him closer. Ronon felt surrounded by her warmth, inhaling her scent that he associated with her.

Ending the kiss, he sighed. The last thing he wanted to do was rush this.

"So," he said, moving slightly away from her. "Tell me why Earth women color their nails." He reached down and grabbed her foot, inspecting the nails closer.

She giggled, twisting away from the tickling she felt. "Because we can. It makes us feel pretty."

"And you need paint on your foot to make you feel pretty?" he asked.

She thought. "Nope, I'm feeling it just from your kiss. But the nail polish still gives me a thrill."

"Come on," he smiled, letting her foot go. "Let's go swim."

Disappointed, but glad that they weren't moving too fast, she laughed and ran with him to the water.

A week went by and Ronon and Jennifer found little time together. Ronon went on several missions, one of which he came back after being tortured by the wraith for a day. Jennifer forced him to stay for two full days to recover. He had multiple wounds from the incident. The wraith had mostly knocked him around a lot, so fear of a concussion and dehydration were there.

Jennifer herself found the infirmary short handed during that time, so she put in several extra shifts and trained a few new recruits who would eventually take on some of the shifts so that she could go back to her normal schedule.

Shortly after Ronon was cleared in good health, Sheppard went to Col. Carter to ask permission for a visit to Earth. He also asked her a favor and requested to be accompanied by Ronon and Jennifer. Since Ronon began to see Jennifer, Sheppard became closer to her and considered her as a friend.

Carter agreed, glad that the three of them would get much deserved time away. It would also give Teyla time to rest as well as give McCay an opportunity to study a few pieces of technology brought back by Sheppard's team.

Carter had noticed that at Atlantis, the strain of always being on the job site could burn out her team members. At Stargate command, they always had the luxury of retreating to their homes each night or at least a few times per week.

Sheppard joined Jennifer and Ronon for their training session, which they continued a few times per week. Ronon had said that she was building more strength and learning defensive moves quickly. He had also built in time during their training for strength endurance and had the doctor jogging and weight lifting.

He opened the door to find them both on the floor stretching before their run. "Mind if I join you kids this morning?" Sheppard asked.

Ronon looked up surprised. "Sure. If you can keep up with us, that is."

Jennifer grinned at the two and stood up. "All right, boys, let's go."

Sheppard inwardly laughed at the couple. He never thought tough guy Ronon would fall for someone from Earth, let alone a doctor, and be grinning like an idiot all of the time.

They ran for almost an hour around Atlantis, passing a few people on their way. None of them said much, other than occasionally challenging each other for a quick sprint.

When they were done, all three agreed to meet for breakfast after a quick shower and change.

When they met back at the table, Sheppard joked at the absorbent amount of food on Ronon's plate compared to his and Jennifer's. After minutes of general talk about things that were going on around Atlantis, Sheppard broke the news.

"So, are you both up to help me on our next mission?" Sheppard asked.

Jennifer looked nervous while Ronon looked eager. "What is it?" Ronon asked.

"Earth," Sheppard said. "You both are to accompany me, under Carter and my orders, to a visit to Earth. Six days. But I need your help in one area."

Jennifer grinned, surprised for the unplanned time off and eager to go home. She just hoped it would be possible to see her father on the visit. "What?"

Sheppard looked at her. "We need to find somewhere where we won't get into trouble or have trouble find us." Getting serious now, he thought back to his last trip. "Let's just say going to my father's funeral only to be interrupted to chase down two replicators was not what I had in mind."

Jennifer nodded sympathetically. "So this is just a fun, relaxing vacation visit? No work?" She asked.

"None at all. In fact, we've been ordered to relax as much as possible," Sheppard said.

Jennifer began thinking. "How about we visit my home town? It doesn't get as uneventful in my home in Wisconsin."

Sheppard slowly smiled. "Perfect," he said. "We leave in two days, so pack up."

Sheppard and Jennifer planned what to do on their visit on the way back on the _Daedalus_. Jennifer wanted to spend time visiting her father and make a "girl stop," as she referred to it, to have a few hours at the salon and pick up a couple of things at a mall. After explaining to Ronon how women on Earth spend exorbitant amounts of time and money having people beautify them once a month. Ronon told Sheppard, secretly, that he wanted to be able to take Jennifer to "the four star restaurant," which after laughing for a few minutes, Sheppard translated it into taking Jennifer to a nice restaurant. Sheppard planned for them to go shopping while Jennifer had her girly time at the salon for more clothing for Ronon.

When the _Daedalus _beamed them down to Stargate command, they were flown to a major city near Jennifer's hometown for their first adventure of the trip. Sheppard had a driver take them to mall. They rented a car nearby for the remainder of their trip before entering the shopping mall.

Ronon, wide-eyed at the huge building before him, followed Sheppard and Jennifer into the structure. Blending in by wearing a pair of jeans and a button-down black shirt, he had tied his attention-grabbing dreds into a loose tie.

"OK, boys, this is where I leave you," Jennifer said. "Can we meet back in the food area in about two or three hours?"

Sheppard, moaning about women and their stores, grumpily agreed while Ronon tried to figure out what she was planning on doing that would take that long of time. About to open his mouth and ask, Sheppard cut him off and muttered something along the lines of "don't even ask."

"Here, program in my cell number in case we need you," John said, exchanging cell phones with her for each of them to put each other in. Ronon, used to Earthly gadgets since his last visit to Earth, continued to look around at his surroundings.

Before departing, Ronon spun Jennifer around, kissed her full on the mouth, and walked back to Sheppard before she could even blink. Turning in a daze, she walked off with a smile on her face.

Scanning the mall directory for her first stop, Jennifer looked for the salon John mentioning calling ahead to while she was in the rest room. Unfortunately, there was only one salon and she hadn't thought about making an appointment, so she hoped it wouldn't be too long of a wait. Adjusting back to life on Earth proved to be a challenge when she had leave time.

Making her way up the escalator and through the salon doors, she approached the receptionist with a hopeful expression.

"Hi," she began, making a sheepish shrug. "I don't have an appointment, but I'm in desperate need of help with my hair today."

The receptionist looked up, smiled, and asked, "What is your name?"

Jennifer remained hopeful. "Jennifer Keller."

"Dr. Keller," she said. "We've been expecting you. A Major Sheppard called ahead for you and asked us to squeeze you in this afternoon. He wasn't sure what you wanted done, so I called in two people to assist you today."

Jennifer looked back, surprised. "What? You did that for me?"

The receptionist nodded. "When the major called, the owner answered. Her husband serves in the military out the country as well. Once he mentioned that you only get to do this a few times a year, she immediately set up the schedule to fit you in. Besides, he mentioned a debt he had to pay to you."

Beaming, Jennifer smiled. "Wow! I can't thank you enough!"

Two women approached the receptionist and guided Jennifer to the back of the salon. Because they knew she was limited on time, they bustled her through a hair cut, highlights and a quick coloring treatment to bring shine back into her hair, her nails and toes were painted a pretty red, and her eyebrows were efficiently groomed. Noticing her pale complexion, they sent her into the tanning beds for ten minutes to add a little glow to her skin. They ended the session with a hair styling, and styled her hair in bouncy waves of curls going down her back.

Her cell phone rang about three hours into her pampering. Flipping her phone awkwardly without messing up her hair, she smiled when she heard Ronon's voice.

"Hey," he said. "So I wanted to take you to a restaurant one day this week. Sheppard warned me I better tell you in case you need to buy something to wear to it," he said.

"That sounds perfect and tell Sheppard I appreciate the warning," she said, hanging up after their good-byes.

"So, ladies, where do I buy a killer dress?" Jennifer asked.

In the mean time, Sheppard took Ronon to a men's clothing store and bought more Earth clothing, both casual and a casual suit for the restaurant. Before they had entered the store, Sheppard took Ronon aside.

"OK," he began. "The military set up a checking debit card for you."

"Seriously?" Ronon said, surprised.

"Well, you can't expect not to be paid for doing the same job as we're doing," Sheppard said. "So you have quite a bit loaded already on this card. Anywhere they accept plastic, you're good to go. We'll get some cash for you before we leave, too."

After his clothing purchase, Ronon got up the nerve to ask John a question.

"So, do I have enough to buy something for someone?"

Sheppard turned back. "Does this someone happen to be a hot doctor that has you transformed from a menacing warrior into a sappy man in love?"

Ronon shot a threatening glare at his friend. "Just don't tell anyone on Atlantis about that and you'll live. Seriously, tell me a place to get her something. I won't have any more chances once we're back on Atlantis."

Sheppard scowled. "Shhh… keep it down. You never know who's listening," he walked towards the information map. "Ah-ha. Perfect. You, my friend, are in luck. The ultimate woman present store, guaranteed to please any woman, from any galaxy," he lowered his voice.

He guided Ronon into Tiffany & Co. and walked up to a sales associate. "Excuse me," he said. "My friend would like to purchase something."

Ronon and Sheppard described Jennifer to the female associate, and she came back with several samples of necklaces.

While Ronon was deciding, Sheppard made his way over to a different selection of necklaces. Spying something that caught his eye, he asked another associate to pull it out of the display. It was a drop pendant necklace, in the shape of an octagon, with another aquamarine colored diamond, shaped like a pear, dropping from it. It was perfect.

Quickly making his purchase and accepting the signature blue colored box, Ronon snuck behind him and made him jump.

"So, Sheppard," Ronon began, grinning. "Who are you buying for?" Ronon stuck his own purchase in his pocket for safe keeping.

"None of your business, Romeo," Sheppard smirked, turning to leave the store.

Ronon frowned. "Who's Romeo?"

Sheppard called over his shoulder. "Come on," he said. "I know just the place to kill some time while we wait for your woman."

Jennifer twirled in the dress she had decided on for her first real date with Ronon. It was perfect. The dress was red, sleeveless, and ended shortly below her knees. It hugged her tiny waist and then flared out to sway down the length of her thighs. The woman helping her brought over killer strappy black high heeled sandals to complete the outfit.

She had a sales woman pull out a few more dresses and outfits her size, so by the time she left she was laden with several shopping bags.

Leaving the store, she past a few more stores and bought a few more "essentials" before calling the guys on her cell phone.

"Sheppard," he answered.

"Hey, where are you guys? I'm about done with what I have to do. And I'm early, thanks to your advanced call to the salon, by the way," Jennifer said.

"Don't mention it," he said, and she heard something like a pinball machine burst into sounds from somewhere nearby him.

"Where are you guys?" she asked.

"Where all men go while they wait for the woman-folk," he said, half concentrating on the game. "In the arcade."

Laughing, she told them she would meet them in the food area.


	6. Chapter 6

Sheppard drove them to her father's home in Chippewa Falls. With Jennifer in the front seat, Ronon sat in the back in between the front seats to take in the scenes.

Jennifer smiled to herself thinking about Ronon's reaction to her primping. When she approached them, stuffing their faces with pizza and breadsticks, both gawked at her appearance.

"Wow," was all Ronon could say, stupidly. Wiping his mouth with his hand, he pushed out a chair next to him for her.

Now that they've been on the road for an hour, she still felt his gaze on her from the back seat. Glad that she had changed into one of her new sundresses and sandals, she enjoyed the time she could look girly compared to her uniform on Atlantis.

When they drove up into her father's driveway, Jennifer could barely keep herself from throwing open the car door in excitement before Sheppard brought the car to a stop. Her father, just as eager, ran from their home towards the car. Jennifer, while the car was just coming to a stop, threw open the door and ran to meet him. Hugging his daughter fiercely, he picked her up and twirled her in a circle.

John looked back and Ronon. "Nervous?"

Ronon, always the confident and silent one, seemed a little uneasy. "I'm taking it that meeting the father of your girlfriend is just as awkward as it is on Sateda. Any advice?"

"Yeah," Sheppard said. "Don't mess up."

Grunting, Ronon got out from the back seat while Sheppard went to meet Mr. Keller. Ronon began unloading the backseat while Jennifer made the introductions. Approaching them, Ronon tried his best to look friendly when he was introduced. Mr. Keller, obvious to his daughter's change in tone when she introduced him, connected the fact that there was more to Ronon and his daughter than just co-workers, especially when he noticed the bigger man's nervousness.

Deciding to investigate that more, Mr. Keller told Jennifer to show Sheppard where he and Ronon would be staying while he helped Ronon unload.

With his palms sweating, Ronon tried to relax as the older man approached the car.

"So, I hear you work with my daughter in the field," he began. "What sort of work do you do?"

Although Sheppard had prompted him on what to say if he was questioned on Earth, he had a hard time lying to her father. "I was privately hired," Ronon began carefully as he unloaded their suitcases and bags from shopping. "I basically make sure that no one messes with our team. Sheppard calls it body guarding."

Not satisfied, Mr. Keller pressed for more information. "You're not from the U.S., is that right?"

"No, sir," Ronon said and didn't encourage a follow up question by turning his back and picking up the packages.

"Now I know you're not at liberty to tell me much, young man," he began, "But explain to me how my daughter got that cut on her neck."

Ronon froze. He didn't expect to be asked that. Unfortunately, even with make-up, Jennifer's cut from their last mission was still a visible reminder to how close she came to death. A dark look passed over his face. He would never forget holding her in his arms while Sheppard cleaned the wound caused by the enemy on the planet they carried out a rescue effort. "I wasn't with her," he said, looking straight into her father's eyes. "But I can assure you that the person who caused that injury no longer is alive, thanks to John."

The men made their way up to the house. For the meantime, Mr. Keller learned a lot in his short conversation with the young man. First, his daughter was in more danger than he originally thought while she was out of the country. The men she had brought home, from looking at their recent scars from some type of battle, go out of their way to protect her. The group obviously needed down time. And lastly, he learned that the big man carrying the suitcases next to him was in love with his baby girl.

Later that night, Jennifer settled into her old bedroom. Sheppard and Ronon were down the hall, each in their own guest bedroom, with a bathroom in between their rooms. She walked across the hall to shower and change for the night and then quietly made her way back to her room.

Drifting off to sleep, she had a hard time sleeping on her first night on Earth. A few hours later, a dream plagued her rest.

A wraith was in Atlantis, hunting her down. She ran down the corridors, desperately trying to find a weapon. When she reached Ronon's room, she flew inside only to find the same wraith kneeling on the bed above him feeding on him. Screaming his name, she grabbed a gun from the corner and fired.

Ronon, in the room down the hall, felt his blood chill when he heard Jennifer screaming his name. Grabbing the gun he smuggled back from Atlantis, he threw open the door and bolted into her room. Sheppard, two steps behind him with his own weapon drawn, entered the room.

They found Jennifer sitting up in bed, eyes wide and panting. Ronon went right to her while Sheppard scanned the room to figure out what caused her reaction.

Panting, she began babbling about the wraith. As she continued to speak, her father rushed into the room and took in the scene.

Ronon, slowly, sat on the bed with her and grabbed her arms. "Jen," he began. "You had a nightmare. There's no one here."

Not listening, Jennifer tore off his shirt to check for wounds. Mr. Keller, confused what was happening and also noticing the multiple scars on the back of the young man, tried to follow what she was saying.

"See," Ronon assured her. "Just the same old stuff. Nothing new."

Sheppard, aware that Jennifer was settling down, caught her eye and gave her a warning glance towards her father. Nodding, she took a deep breath and gave Ronon back his shirt. "I'm OK," she began. "I'm sorry to scare everyone. I just had a really bad dream."

Ronon got up to put back on his t-shirt while her father knelt beside her bed. "You sure you're OK? It didn't sound like a regular bad dream."

Jennifer tried to smile and nodded. "I'm fine," she said. "Just embarrassed."

Her father hugged her, and left to return to his room. Sheppard, assured she was OK, tried to crack a joke to ease the tension. "As long as it wasn't me attacking you in the dream, I'm not mad that you disturbed my first night back for this. It wasn't about me, right?"

This time, Jennifer did smile. "No, Sheppard. No whacked out dreams about you in my operating room this time."

Sheppard left while Ronon lingered.

"Stay," Jennifer said, once Sheppard was gone. Seeing that Ronon was hesitant, she pleaded. "Just until I fall asleep."

Ronon, not wanting to go himself, pulled up a chair next to her bed and held her hand in his. A few minutes later, he heard her fall asleep. Kissing her on the forehead, he rested his head back and drifted off himself.

In the morning, Jennifer's father walked past his daughter's open door. Thinking she may already be awake, he paused when he saw her sleeping soundly with her hand tucked inside Ronon's larger one. Ronon, from the looks of it, was waking up and appeared to be startled at his surroundings. Shifting in his chair stiffly, he dislodged his hand from hers.

Seeing her father at the door, he slowly got up, raised her blankets over her shoulder, and shut the door quietly behind him.

Groggy, he muttered, "I didn't mean to stay longer than for her to fall asleep again after the dream. Guess I must have been tired from the trip home."

Mr. Keller nodded, understanding, and invited Ronon to join him for coffee. Hearing the words, Ronon instantly perked up and followed him downstairs.

As he got the coffee going, Jennifer's father took advantage of having Ronon by himself again.

"Ronon," he began, "I'm not a fool. I can tell there's something between you and my daughter. Especially seeing you with her last night and this morning. Now, I trust her judgment and I have my own instincts about you, but tell me what your intentions are."

Ronon, shifting, wasn't expecting to answer a question like this first thing in the morning. "_Don't mess up"_ which were Sheppard's words to him, flashed in his mind. Deciding to be real and honest with her father, he just began to talk what was on his heart. He looked up at the man, not blinking.

"I've only known your daughter for about a year," Ronon began. "We've been through a few missions and some defense training together. I admired her the moment I saw her work on saving the life of one of our commanders. Later, I respected her stubbornness when she forced me let my wounds heal and held me off duty in the infirmary for days, something that the other doctors were scared to force me to do," he paused. "I can be pretty stubborn."

"And then on our last mission together, I fell in love with her," he looked up at her father. "I don't say those words lightly. Only one other woman has ever made me feel the same way. And I lost her to an enemy years ago. There's been no one since."

Surprised at the heart-felt words of this tough warrior, Mr. Keller sat down across from him and dropped down two mugs of coffee in front of them.

"If you don't mind my asking, does my daughter feel the same way about you?" he asked.

Ronon hung his head, wondering that himself. "Let's just say we're in the dating phase of our relationship," he said. "We haven't gotten to the deep stuff yet."

Shortly after, Sheppard made his way down the steps. Fresh from the shower, he breathed in the scent of coffee.

"God bless you, sir," he said as Mr. Keller poured another mug. "So, how's the doc this morning?

Ronon nodded. "Sleeping still."

Sensing that something was said between the two men, Sheppard tried to start a conversation. Within a few minutes, Ronon waited for an opening and asked if they wouldn't mind if he walked around a little outside.

Once the door closed behind him, Sheppard smiled. "Ronon doesn't like to sit still, by the way."

Jennifer's father grinned. "I think he was a little uncomfortable after I grilled him about his intentions towards my girl."

Sheppard laughed, but at the same time felt sorry for his friend. "OK, let's have a talk, then." Sheppard said. "I can't imagine what I would feel like if my daughter, whom I probably treated like a princess my entire life, asks if she can bring two men she works with home for a few days of R & R."

Mr. Keller, appreciating the young man's humor, laughed.

"Well, you probably are torn between pulling out information from the two of us, because you know your daughter will be upset if you ask her anything, or punching the daylights over the beast of a man who clearly is very interested in her. And by the way, I wouldn't try number two on that list. Trust me, I try often to get the best of him and end up hurting myself in the process."

"Advice taken," Jennifer's father said. "So tell me, if you were in my situation, how should I feel about my daughter dating this man?"

Sheppard's smile gradually softened. "Sir, there is no man I would rather see my daughter with than that man outside," he began. "He's loyal, a great friend, and completely head over heels for your daughter."

They both watched out the window as Ronon walked around the house, looking up at Jennifer's window every so often.

Later that night, Ronon and Jennifer got ready for their restaurant date. Jennifer laughed, thinking back to her conversation with Ronon earlier.

"So, where is a fancy restaurant we can go to around here?" Ronon asked, sitting next to her on the couch.

"Well, how about we forgo on the "fancy" and go to a good restaurant," she answered, and then explained to him the difference. After he heard he would barely get enough food at a fancy restaurant to fill a tea cup, he eagerly agreed. She named a restaurant and they decided on a time to dine there later on in the evening.

As they met each other on the staircase leading down to the lower part of the house, Ronon was mesmerized by her beauty. She wore a red dress that looked like it was made for her. Her hair was tousled up in soft, curly waves piled on top of her head and cascaded down her neck, leaving a few strands flying away. She wore no jewelry, to his delight, as he wanted to give her his present tonight during dinner.

Jennifer was struck at how ruggedly handsome Ronon looked. He wore charcoal gray dress pants, a black dress shirt tucked in (which was a first), but opted out of a tie and instead left the last two buttons opened. His eyes met hers and she felt excited to begin their first date on Earth.

Intending on saying good-bye, they didn't find Sheppard or her father downstairs. Spying a note, Jennifer read it aloud.

"Take your time," Sheppard's horrible penmanship scribbled on the page. "We took off to go night fishing on the river. Have a good time."

Shaking her head at the major's message, she picked up the car keys and they made their way to the restaurant.

During their drive, Ronon relished the time they had alone together. "Don't get me wrong," he said. "I've enjoyed getting to know your father… especially since he doesn't look like he's going to kill me in my sleep anymore. But it's sure nice to have you by myself now."

Jennifer grinned while she parked the car. It didn't look busy, since it was a weeknight.

They walked up the stars, holding hands, and parted only for Ronon to hold the door open for her. Walking up confidently to the hostess, Ronon said, "Reservations for Ronon Dex."

Surprised, Jennifer lifted up her eyes to Ronon. "Reservations? Wow, you thought ahead."

They hostess led them to a secluded table. Two dripping candles lit the darkened table. Ronon pulled the chair out for Jennifer and sat down himself. Almost immediately, a waiter was by their side taking their order.

They decided on an appetizer together and then gave their menus after ordering to the waiter. Scooting closer to her, Ronon looked around at the restaurant.

It was a nice place- cozy, romantic, and perfect for a quiet dinner together. Jennifer smiled back at him and sighed.

"If only we could do this on Atlantis," she said. "But it makes me appreciate it more when I visit back home."

Ronon took her hand and grinned. "I'm hoping the food is a lot better here, too. Last time I went to a restaurant with Sheppard, I never had better tasting food."

"So," Jennifer said. "How do you like visiting Earth? More importantly, are you having a good time on this visit?"

Ronon leveled his gaze on her. "This has been my favorite visit," he said. "Mainly because it's with you."

Their food arrived, and they both dug in. Jennifer laughed at Ronon's lack of manners as he shoveled in his food. When he was finished, he watched her half-heartedly try and finish her meal. Giving up, she placed the plate in front of him and watched him wolf down the rest of her meal.

When the waiter picked up their plates and they each placed a dessert order, Ronon slipped his hand out of hers to retrieve something from his pocket. Silently, he placed in front of her the Tiffany wrapped box.

She gasped in surprise and looked up. "What is this?"

Ronon smiled. "I figured I would never be able to get you something from Earth until our next visit, so Sheppard and I went shopping at the mall. And I picked it out myself."

Grinning at the proud look on Ronon's face, she slowly opened the box. Inside sat a beautiful diamond necklace in a shape of a heart. The heart was made up of both diamonds and pink sapphires. Shocked at the beauty of it, she blinked and gazed up into his eyes.

"It's beautiful!" she said. "Can you put it on me?" She turned so that Ronon was able to clasp the necklace together. His fingers brushed her neck, causing her to shiver, and she held the pendant afterward. "I don't know what to say. No one has ever bought me something this wonderful before."

Ronon, beaming that she liked it, reached over and brought her face closer to his. They kissed and Ronon reluctantly let her go. "It reminded me of you. The pink stones reminded me of your delicacy and beauty. The diamonds reminded me of how strong of a person you are. The instant the man showed it to me, I knew it was perfect."

Melting over his words, Jennifer's eyes teared up. When dessert was brought, both said little as they enjoyed and shared each others dessert.

After Ronon settled the bill, they walked around the lake hand in hand. Jennifer stopped when she heard music coming from a restaurant. It was a soft, romantic melody. Turning, she asked Ronon "Do you know how to slow dance?"

Ronon looked at her and smiled. "Teach me."

Jennifer guided his handed, leaned her check against his chest, and swayed to the music with her. Ronon guided them in a slow circle until they reached a tree trunk laying on its side. Looking up at him, and frustrated she wasn't as tall as him, she slipped out of her heels and onto the tree.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"This." She gently yanked on his shirt and collided with his chest. Now level with his face, she pulled him into a deep kiss. Groaning, Ronon wrapped his arms around her and pulled her snug against him. When his hand traveled to her hair, he impatiently found the pins and pulled them out, allowing her hair to cascade down her back. Breaking from the kiss, he pulled her hair back so that her neck was exposed and covered it with his mouth, taking tender care not to hurt the cut fading from her injury. She pulled her lips back towards his and sighed against his lips. Overwhelmed by emotion for this woman, he pulled her off the ground with his lips still firmly attached to hers and lifted her off her feet.

Somewhere nearby, they heard a group of women walking their way. Groaning, she lengthened their last kiss and savored it. Looking back to find her shoes, they both made their way back to the car.

Ronon's mind swirled with thoughts. He wanted to tell her he loved her so much, especially back there during their kiss. He knew deep down that she cared for him, but he wasn't sure if it was too soon to speak it aloud. As they drove back that night, he held her hand that was free from the wheel and occasionally reached over to kiss her bare shoulder.

Walking up to the house, they each silently made their way, smiling to the porch.

"You're late," came a voice from the corner. Jumping at the voice, Jennifer shrieked and Ronon stepped in front of her even though he thought he recognized the voice.

"Sheppard?" he muttered. "What are you doing?

Sheppard, with his hands behind his head, was lounging in a hammock in the corner of the porch. "I'm relaxing," he said. "So, did you kids have a good time?"

Jennifer, with her heart still pounding, reached over to swat Sheppard on the head. "Yes, we did. How about you?"

John carefully got off the hammock. "It was great," he said. "Your father taught me the art of fly fishing. We caught a few fish, but let them go."

Ronon, confused why anyone would fish and then let go of perfectly good food, decided not to question it. Still adjusting to Earth time, they all decided to call it a night. Before they went in, Sheppard leaned over Ronon's shoulder and suggested that he wipe the lipstick stains off of his mouth and neck.

Coloring, Ronon used the sleeve of his shirt to wipe off everything before entering the house in case he ran into Jennifer's father.

Saying their good-byes the next day, Jennifer noticed her father smiling more towards both Ronon and herself. Glad that he approved of the Ronon, she kissed her father on the cheek and whispered a quiet thank you into his ear.

Ronon also was surprised when her father shook his hand and pulled his ear close to him.

"Take care of my little girl," he whispered. "You're a good man, son."

Ronon got off a startled nod and then took both his and Jennifer's suitcase to the rental car.

They had one more night before they had to report back for duty. Sheppard hadn't told them anything about how they were going to spend their last day. Ronon didn't care and was just enjoying his time on Earth. Jennifer, however, was grilling Sheppard like an eager 5 year old on Christmas day.

"Sheppard," she whined. "Just tell us where we're going."

He grinned and looked back at both of them. "OK, I'll tell you now. Tonight, we are taking a plane. We'll sleep on the plane and then have the entire day tomorrow until late evening before we need to be back."

Ronon, becoming more interested, more for Jen's sake than his, asked "So where are we spending the day tomorrow?"

Sheppard grinned. "Disney World."

Jennifer shrieked and demanded if he was serious. Ronon, confused, asked "We're going off world somewhere?"

Laughing, Jennifer told him a little about Disney World.

About 24 hours later, they were slow dancing on the middle of the park to music they faintly heard from one of the speakers. It was almost closing time. Sheppard was due back from meeting up with a friend for the day in the park any minute. The sun had long set and firecrackers were beginning to go off.

"This was the best vacation I've ever had." Jennifer said, sighing in Ronon's arms.

Ronon gathered her closer. "I think I can make it better." Grinning, he let her go and reached into his shirt, pulling out a necklace he always wore. She noticed there was a ring on it.

"I know I already got you a necklace, but I was hoping you would wear this one as well. It's a symbol on Sateda." He gazed into her eyes. "It means you carry my heart with you."

Eyes welling up, Jennifer took it and put it around her neck, pushing it under her shirt to feel it against her beating heart. Looking at him, she reached up to kiss him deeply. "Ronon, I love you."

Gripping her waist, he bunched her shirt to possessively bring her closer again. "Not as much as I love you."


End file.
